Tuesday Sports – Pistons remain hot, beat Knicks 124-119

NBA – National Basketball Association
Last Night
Detroit Pistons 124, New York Knicks 119

Pistons 124, Knicks 119 – Cunningham scores 36 points and the surging Pistons beat the Knicks again, 124-119
Cade Cunningham scored 36 points, Malik Beasley had 22 and a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the final 40 seconds and the surging Detroit Pistons beat New York 124-119, their second straight victory over the Knicks after dropping the previous 16 meetings. Cunningham’s brilliant play helped the Pistons nurse a small lead for much of the second half, but the Knicks forced the ball out of his hands on two late possessions. Both times the Pistons were able to swing it around to an open Beasley, who made the first one for a four-point lead and the second to make it 124-119 with 6.3 seconds to go.

Tonight
Cleveland Cavaliers at Indiana Pacers, 7:00 p.m.
New Orleans Pelicans at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m.

NBA – Chicago Bulls forward Torrey Craig sidelined by a sprained right ankle
Chicago Bulls forward Torrey Craig has a sprained right ankle and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. The 34-year-old Craig hasn’t played since he scored a season-high 18 points in a 115-108 victory at Charlotte on Dec. 30. He has appeared in just nine games in his second season with Chicago, averaging 6.9 points and 2.8 rebounds. Chicago is 18-21 after it lost 124-119 to Sacramento on Sunday. It hosts New Orleans on Tuesday night.

NHL – National Hockey League
Last Night
Calgary Flames 5, Chicago Blackhawks 2

Flames 5, Blackhawks 2 – Pelletier scores twice as the Flames cruise to 5-2 win over the Blackhawks
Jakob Pelletier had two goals and an assist, helping the Calgary Flames beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2. Mikael Backlund, Yegor Sharangovich and Jake Bean also scored for Calgary in its third consecutive victory. Dustin Wolf made 23 saves in the opener of a four-game trip. Flames forward Rory Kerins had two assists in his NHL debut. Connor Bedard recorded his 100th career point on a second-period goal, but Chicago lost for the ninth time in 11 games. Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft, has 34 goals and 66 assists in 112 games.

Tonight
San Jose Sharks at Detroit Red Wings, 7:00 p.m.

NFL – National Football League – Wild Card Weekend
Last Night
Los Angeles Rams 27, Minnesota Vikings 9

Rams 27, Vikings 9 – Rams overwhelm Vikings 27-9 in wild-card playoff
Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes and the Los Angeles Rams overwhelmed the Minnesota Vikings, sacking Sam Darnold an NFL playoff record-tying nine times to win 27-9 Monday night. The NFC wild-card game was moved out of Southern California because of devastating wildfires. Rookie Jared Verse returned a fumble for a 57-yard score for the Rams, who looked comfortable in their adopted home of State Farm Stadium from the first snap. LA drove for a touchdown on the opening drive and built a 10-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. The game was played in Glendale, Arizona, nearly 400 miles east of the Rams’ home stadium.

NFL – Mike McCarthy won’t return as the Cowboys’ coach
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says Mike McCarthy will not return as the team’s coach. Jones said Monday that the organization and McCarthy mutually agreed to part ways. McCarthy’s contract expired following a 7-10 season. The Cowboys haven’t been past the NFC divisional round since their 1995 Super Bowl season. A person with knowledge of the conversation says Jones has spoken about the job with University of Colorado coach Deion Sanders, who played on the Cowboys’ last Super Bowl-winning team. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no formal interview has been arranged.

NCAAMBB – Men’s College Basketball
Last Night
Notre Dame 78, Boston College 60

ND 78, BC 60 – Notre Dame beats BC 78-60 to snap 4-game skid
Tae Davis scored 26 points, Markus Burton added 20 and Notre Dame beat Boston College 78-60 on Monday night to snap a four-game losing streak. Notre Dame (8-9, 2-4 ACC) picked up its first win since a 91-62 outcome on Dec. 22 against Le Moyne.  Burton made two free throws with 5:24 left in the second half to give Notre Dame the first double-digit lead of the game at 60-50. Notre Dame dominated the paint against BC 40-18 after entering leading the ACC by shooting 42.2% from 3-point range in conference play. The Irish were just 3 of 15 from distance against the Eagles.

Tonight
Western Michigan at Kent State, 7:00 p.m.
Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan, 7:00 p.m.

NCAAMBB – Auburn rises to No. 1 after Tennessee loses
Auburn has climbed to No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s basketball poll for its second stint at the top in program history. Bruce Pearl’s Tigers claimed 60 of 62 first-place votes to rise one spot Monday. That came after previous No. 1 Tennessee suffered its first loss of the season, falling at Florida, to end a five-week reign. Auburn had been No. 1 once before during a three-week stint in 2022. Iowa State, Duke, Alabama and Florida rounded out the top five. The Southeastern Conference had nine ranked teams. That included No. 23 Georgia for the first time since 2011.

NCAAWBB – Minnesota earns 1st ranking since 2019. UCLA still #1
Minnesota is off to its best start in 17 games and earned its first ranking since 2019, coming into The Associated Press women’s basketball poll at No. 24. The Golden Gophers have won 16 of their first 17 contests, with the loss coming against Nebraska last month. They are ranked for the first time since Dec. 30, 2019. Next up is a matchup at No. 8 Maryland on Tuesday. UCLA, South Carolina, Notre Dame and Southern California kept rolling, holding the top four spots again in the AP Top 25. The Bruins received 29 of the 31 first-place votes from a national media panel. The Fighting Irish, who were missing All-America guard Hannah Hidalgo in their last game because of a foot injury, got the other two top votes.

WNBA – Texas man charged with stalking WNBA and Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark
A 55-year-old Texas man has been charged with felony stalking Indiana Fever star and WNBA rookie of the year Caitlin Clark. Marion County prosecutors wrote in a court filing Saturday that Michael Thomas Lewis is accused of repeated and continued harassment of the 22-year-old Clark. Authorities say Clark posted numerous messages — some sexually threatening — on Clark’s X account. Prosecutors wrote in the filing Clark felt terrorized, frightened, intimidated and threatened as a result. The FBI learned the X account belonged to Lewis and that the messages were sent from IP addresses at an Indianapolis hotel and downtown public library. Jail records show Lewis is due in court on Tuesday.

NCAAFB – Colorado’s Bill McCartney, who won national championship in 1990, has died
Bill McCartney, who coached Colorado to its only football national championship in 1990, has died. He was 84. McCartney died “after a courageous journey with dementia,” according to a family statement. His family announced in 2016 that he had been diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s. McCartney remains the winningest coach in Colorado history, with a record of 93-55-5. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. McCartney led Colorado to its best season in 1990, when the team finished 11-1-1 and beat Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl to clinch the national title.

MHSAA – Michigan High School Athletic Association
Last Night
Boys Basketball
Holland Black River 57, Our Lady of the Lake 53 – OT
Countryside Academy 66, Covert 38
Brandywine 62, River Valley 36
Gobles 53, Bangor 33
Wyoming Potters House 57, Fennville 46
Centreville 63, Marcellus 46

Girls Basketball
Watervliet 55, Benton Harbor 33
Andrews Academy 30, Our Lady of the Lake 22
Berrien Springs 55, Michigan Lutheran 27
Bridgman 53, Dowagiac 25
Battle Creek Lakeview 35, Mason 21

Competitive Cheerleading
SMAC Conference at St. Joseph

Tonight
Boys Basketball
SMAC
Lakeshore at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, 7:00 p.m.
St. Joseph at Battle Creek Central, 7:00 p.m.
Mattawan at Gull Lake, 7:00 p.m.
Portage Central at Kalamazoo Central, 7:00 p.m.
Portage Northern at BC Lakeview, 7:00 p.m.

Wolverine
Niles at Vicksburg, 7:15 p.m.
Edwardsburg at Paw Paw, 7:15 p.m.
Sturgis at Otsego, 7:15 p.m.
Three Rivers at Plainwell, 7:15 p.m.

SAC
South Haven at Constantine, 7:00 p.m.
Watervliet at Kalamazoo Christian, 7:00 p.m.
Coloma at Lawton, 7:00 p.m.
Allegan at Kalamazoo Hackett, 7:00 p.m.
Galesburg-Augusta at Parchment, 7:00 p.m.
Schoolcraft at Wyoming Tri-Unity, 7:00 p.m.

Southwest 10
Bloomingdale at Bangor, 7:30 p.m.
Hartford at Centreville, 7:30 p.m.
Marcellus at Comstock, 7:30 p.m.
Cassopolis at Lawrence, 7:30 p.m.
Decatur at White Pigeon, 7:30 p.m.

Non-Conference
Eau Claire at Berrien Springs, 7:00 p.m.
Michigan Lutheran at Bridgman, 7:30 p.m.
New Buffalo at Dowagiac, 7:15 p.m.
Saugatuck at Buchanan, 7:15 p.m.
Delton-Kellogg at BC Calhoun Christian, 7:30 p.m.

Girls Basketball
SMAC
Kalamazoo Loy Norrix at Lakeshore, 7:00 p.m.
Battle Creek Central at St. Joseph, 7:00 p.m.
Gull Lake at Mattawan, 7:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Central at Portage Central, 7:00 p.m.
BC Lakeview at Portage Northern, 7:00 p.m.

Wolverine
Vicksburg at Niles, 7:15 p.m.
Paw Paw at Edwardsburg, 6:30 p.m.
Otsego at Sturgis, 7:15 p.m.
Plainwell at Three Rivers, 7:15 p.m.

SAC
Bridgman at Allegan, 7:00 p.m.
Schoolcraft at Coloma, 7:00 p.m.
Lawton at Fennville, 7:00 p.m.
Parchment at Galesburg-Augusta, 7:00 p.m.
Kal. Christian at GR Covenant Christian, 7:00 p.m.
Wyoming Tri-Unity at Martin, 7:00 p.m.
Saugatuck at North Muskegon, 7:00 p.m.
Constantine at South Haven, 7:00 p.m.
Kalamazoo Hackett at Watervliet, 7:00 p.m.

Southwest 10
Bangor at Bloomingdale, 7:30 p.m.
Lawrence at Cassopolis, 6:00 p.m.
White Pigeon at Decatur, 7:30 p.m.
Centreville at Hartford, 7:30 p.m.
Comstock at Marcellus, 7:30 p.m.

Non-Conference
Bronson at Brandywine, 7:00 p.m.
Delton-Kellogg at BC Calhoun Christian, 6:00 p.m.